Gettin’ Carried Away

As a part-time DJ and Karaoke Host in Chicago, I spend a lot of time hanging around the bar/club scene, and I’ve befriended many bartenders and servers over the years. When we’re having a particularly slow night, we’ll sit at the end of the bar together, sip some pops (aka sodas) and gab about “bar life.”

The other night, I started chatting about tips with my bartender friend Heather. In the United States, it is customary to tip a bartender/server/cabbie/etc. for his/her services. Unless the service is particularly poor, people in the U.S. typically leave an extra 10 to 15% with their bill and won’t think twice about it. However, when you’re traveling abroad, the act of leaving a tip might be a bit awkward. At least, it was for me.

Walking into a London pub for the first time, I was mostly excited about the atmosphere. I’m pretty sure I was one of the oldest people in the bar (at 21… at the time), as it was filled with students from the college just up the road. My friends found a seat outside at a wooden picnic table, and I went up to the bar to grab a few pints.

I ordered a Guinness, a Stella (Artois) and a Strongbow (English cider). Since I’ve been told that I look about 12 years old, I wasn’t surprised when the bartender asked to see my ID. Without thinking, I showed her my U.S. driver’s license, not my Goldsmiths student card. It was about nine quid (pounds) for the lot, and I left the bartender a 10 pound note and some coins and started to walk away. She quickly called for me to come back, and I was shocked because I thought I had paid her more than enough for the drinks. She proceeded to give me some change, and I said, “Oh no, that’s for you.” She replied, “Don’t be silly. This isn’t America.” She refused to take my tip, and I was a bit confused.

In some parts of the world, hospitality workers consider their wages to be more than enough compensation. But how do you know when you should leave a little something extra? What’s appropriate? And where in the world is it customary to tip… or not to tip?

So you don’t have to keep scrolling down and down, I’ll start with the UK and save other areas for later posts.

A general rule to remember while vacationing in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales is that if you hire someone for his/her personal service, no tip is necessary. However, if you are served by a staff member of a company, 10 to 15% is sufficient. Again, what the heck does this mean?

• No tip: pubs, take away (fast food) restaurants, hostels, bed and breakfasts, WCs (public restrooms)
• Tip: taxi drivers, coach (private bus) drivers, sit-down restaurants, large hotels
• Borderline (if the service is exceptional): hairdressers

I’ll be covering more areas soon! And you can always email me at carrie [at] gettincarriedaway [dot] com.